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We stopped at a fast-food restaurant for a quick bite between shopping excursions. The preparation area was open to the serving counter, and with a rush of patrons we stood watching workers create burritos and tacos. One teen on staff was obviously struggling with a cold or perhaps even a more severe virus. He walked…

The term “broken hearted” has multiple meanings in my memory. This summer, during a trip to Israel, we were shopping in Old Jerusalem. The culture in one part of the Old City required dickering over prices. When we were attempting to purchase a scarf, one merchant started out with an asking price of $24. After…

The term “broken hearted” has multiple meanings in my memory. This summer, during a trip to Israel, we were shopping in Old Jerusalem. The culture in one part of the Old City required dickering over prices. When we were attempting to purchase a scarf, one merchant started out with an asking price of $24. After…

This weekend was the 50th anniversary celebration of Faith Church (Dyer, IN). Marlene and I attended the Legacy Dinner on Saturday night and the first of two morning worship services. We had been there for Faith Church’s 10th anniversary celebration in 1974. At that time, I was the first full-time staff person at Faith, serving as Director…

Early one evening a man was walking along a beach when he saw a boy picking up starfish andflinging them into the sea. The man asked the boy why he was doing this. The boy explained the starfish would die if left until the morning. The man asked the boy, “What difference will your efforts…

If you should meet someone whom you have not seen for twenty years, what will that person remember aboutyou? Peter’s remembrance of Jesus is summed up in the phrase, “…he went about doing good…” (Acts 10:38). The following thoughts are from one of Spurgeon’s Evening Devotionals based on that verse as Peter talked with…

A Revitalized Church This is an unusual place. A Reformed church with a rich RCA history within its white, Dutch heritage, which is now a multi-racial, multi-generational faith community. A church that experienced significant decline over several decades that has now reversed that trajectory and has added 110 new members in the past five years,…

The pastor was giving a charge to a new Commissioned Pastor. He said, “The work of ministry is hard and it doesn’t get easier over time. There are some who talk about pastors burning out. Those are not words that I use. When I’m feeling exhausted, I take a different approach: I go pray with an…

At the recent Leadership Summit, Bill Hybels told stories about a phrase that his father used with him as a boy. The phrase was, “Figure it out.” Hybels was put into situations like learning to sail, learning to ski, and learning to make sales calls with the words, “figure it out.” The phrase captures a…